As he paddled out into Massachusetts' Wellfleet Bay in early October, Don Lewis never suspected that he'd see his old friend. After all, they had parted company a year earlier, with the full understanding that they would likely never cross paths again.

But on this crisp fall morning, Lewis, an amateur turtle researcher who's well known on Cape Cod as "The Turtle Man of Wellfleet Bay," was kayaking the waters and assessing how well prepared the reptiles were to hibernate for the coming winter beneath the bay's oozy bottom. Constantly fighting the current and stiff winds, Lewis was ready to call it a day—but not before looking at one last diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) whom he spied hugging the edge of a mud bank.

Drawing his net from the water, Lewis was surprised and gratified to see a familiar face emerge from the folds: female diamondback terrapin #1195—a.k.a. "Bubbles"—looking healthy and spry. Her robust appearance was in stark contrast to the way she looked the previous fall, when Lewis met this resilient turtle for the first time.

In October 2001, Lewis, a volunteer for both the Massachusetts Audubon Society's Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary and The HSUS Cape Wildlife Center, had rescued the critically injured Bubbles on a beach off Wellfleet Harbor, where she'd likely been hurt during the dredging of the bay. He rushed the estimated 13–14 year-old terrapin to the Cape Wildlife Center in West Barnstable, where veterinarians Rachel Blackmer and Catherine Brown provided expert emergency care.

Bleeding and in shock, Bubbles was in critical condition with two severe shell fractures. Both fractures had pierced the bony layer of her shell, exposing her vulnerable body cavity to air. The veterinarians gave her fluids, started her on antibiotics and pain killers, and cleaned, flushed and bandaged the fractures.

They changed the bandages daily to prevent infection. Once the bandages were consistently clean and Bubbles's tissues were effectively sealing off her body cavity from air, the fractures were stabilized with a combination of epoxy and fiberglass. Like a cast, the epoxy-fiberglass mix is often used to brace shell fractures—since it has the added advantage of being waterproof.

After the veterinarians were satisfied that her fractures had closed, they placed Bubbles into a 50-gallon tank where she continued her recovery. Had they put her into such a tank before, without a waterproof covering for her healing fractures, Bubbles might have drowned from water seeping into her body cavity.

Blackmer and Brown knew hibernation—when a turtle's metabolic and cardiovascular functions slow precipitously—would significantly lengthen Bubbles's healing process, so they kept her warm enough that she didn't go into hibernation all winter—an important factor in her relatively speedy recovery. By early spring, her shell was completely healed, and the terrapin was deemed fit to return to the wild. Lewis released Bubbles back into Wellfleet Bay on April 18, 2002.

"It's rare to get a chance to revisit a wild animal saved by human intervention, but especially an elusive aquatic creature such as a terrapin," said Blackmer, director of Cape Wildlife Center.

Lewis's chance meeting with Bubbles this fall allowed Blackmer and others to assess how well the diamondback terrapin had readjusted to the wild after six months of captivity and medical treatment. "Besides looking plump, healthy, and ready for a long winter's nap, Bubbles' shell looked remarkable—rock-solidly mended with only a scar hinting at where the severe trauma had occurred," remarked Blackmer.

For Lewis and Blackmer and others who assisted and followed her recovery, Bubbles's story is a poignant example of how quick action by a team of dedicated individuals can turn tragedy into triumph.